Samsung user tries Nothing Phone (3) - A Review

Alkid Shuli

Hey, I’m Alkid! Basically been Team Galaxy my whole life. However, since late 2022, I’ve been captivated by Nothing’s mission to make tech exciting again and have been an active community member. Despite this, I’d never had the chance to experience one of their phones firsthand, until now.

Through the Community Review Programme, I had the opportunity of using the Nothing Phone (3) for a month. Here are my thoughts and impressions, coming from the perspective of a long-time Samsung user.

Before we start, you can find my video review on YouTube:

DESIGN

Okay, let’s just talk about the look. It’s weird, some people hated it when it first came out, but honestly? I’m kind of into it. While Samsung has been playing it super safe with their designs, Nothing just throws that all out the window. It still feels expensive and well-built, but it looks like nothing else with its see-through back, the off-center cameras, and of course, the Glyph Matrix display. In fact, I much prefer the new Matrix over the previous Glyph Lights.

And the screen is no slouch either. You get a huge 6.67-inch OLED that’s super smooth thanks to its 120 Hz refresh rate. It can also get insanely bright—we’re talking 4500 nits, which is brighter than my S23 Ultra. I’ll admit, I think my Samsung’s screen still makes colors pop a little more, which is better for my editing, but the display on the Nothing Phone is seriously impressive.

THE GLYPH MATRIX DISPLAY

Then you flip it over and you’ve got the Glyph Matrix. It’s not going to change the world, but it is so cool. It can show you the time, your battery, or even work as a mirror so you don’t have to turn the phone on. You can even set custom light patterns for different friends who call you. It’s built right into the design and kind of helps you disconnect a bit, letting you just glance at the back instead of getting sucked into Instagram.

My personal favorite toy is the Glyph Mirror, which lets you use the high-quality rear cameras for selfies, a feature that never fails to grab my friends’ attention. 🤯 The community has already embraced the Glyph Matrix, creating fun toys.

CAMERAS

The one thing that’s always kept me with Samsung is the camera. And on the Nothing Phone 3, the cameras are way better than they used to be (from what I’ve seen online), but they’re not quite at that Samsung or iPhone level. You get three 50-megapixel cameras—your main, an ultrawide, and a 3x zoom. The photos are good—sometimes they’re okay, other times they’re awesome, especially when there’s a lot of bright light. Funny enough, my iPhone buddies actually like the photos from this more than from my Samsung. Here are a few samples: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CEYJyrDUZYXwn5xp8

Video is pretty great, too. It shoots smooth 4K video at 60fps and the autofocus is solid. It’s a really good camera system, and I bet it’ll get even better with updates. The small red LED that blinks while recording is a thoughtful, retro-inspired detail that I love.

PERFORMANCE & SOFTWARE

So this year, Nothing is aiming for the big leagues, and the price shows it—it starts at $800. It’s running a Snapdragon 8S Gen 4 chip. That’s technically an upper-mid-range chip, but in real life, this thing flies. Everything is snappy and smooth, especially with that 120 Hz screen. For everything I do day-to-day, it’s perfect. Sure, it doesn’t have every single feature from Samsung’s One UI, but it has all the ones you’ll actually use. I didn’t feel like I was missing out much.

The software, Nothing OS 3.5, is one of its best features. It’s super clean, minimal, and has zero bloatware. They’ve added some smart little things like “Essential Space” for quick notes and screenshots, which I used all the time. There’s also a universal search (Essential Search) and ChatGPT is built right in. The 5150 mAh battery is a beast, too—it easily gets me through a whole day.

Also, just had the chance to test the first beta of Nothing OS 4.0; the whole Nothing Playground and Essential Apps feature is so cool. Finally users can personalize thier home screens with widgets they’ve created themselves. This opens up so much opportunity for creativity.

FINAL THOUGHTS

When you put this phone next to my Samsung, you see two totally different ideas. Samsung is all about being the safe, reliable choice that does everything. Nothing is about being bold, cool, and different.

Look, this phone isn’t perfect, especially for 800 bucks. But if you’re a Samsung user (or any other brand’s) who’s getting a little bored—or you just want a phone that doesn’t look like every other rectangle out there—the Nothing Phone 3 is a fantastic choice. You get a fun, clean experience, great performance, amazing battery, and a look that will definitely get people talking. It’s the phone for people who are tired of the same old thing.

themountofmint

Oh! That’s great to see a review from a Samsung user! I was that TeamGalaxy person until this July when I’ve purchased my first Nothing phone after being with Samsung for 5 years.

So now, will you buy myself a NP(3) after a review programme? Assuming you have to bring that phone you’ve been reviewing back to them?

Alkid Shuli

themountofmint ohhh, that’s so nice, congrats on the switch! I don’t see myself switching just yet, my S23 Ultra will be getting 2 more major Android upgrades, so hopefully it will last me that long, and in the meantime I’ll see how Nothing will evolve. I’m really used to the 10x optical zoom on my S23U, use it quite a lot, so not ready to give up on that yet, but would love if a future Nothing phone included such lens.

Although, my S23U is showing its age and the NP3 runs so much smoother, faster in comparison, I’m amazed. Also, really want to note that the Essential Space (and button) are so intuitive and useful, and can’t seem to replicate that seamlessness in my Samsung.

One thing that bugs me on NothingOS is that it uses Gboard, more specifically because of the layout it uses for Albanian language, QWERTZ, whereas Samsung Keyboard has it like QWERTY, and I can easily switch between the 2 languages in the S Keyboard. The emojis are a bit ugly, too 🥲

themountofmint

Alkid Shuli yeah!!! I also miss Samsung keyboard in many cases even though 5 years ago that also was a bit painful to use after Gboard. I’d like that swipe language option instead of a button! And yeah, I love Samsung emojis more than Google ones. Note that Nothing isn’t allowing to change font without the root! I’ve tried to do it once with zFont hoping I could bring my brand font back to me but nothing😅 well I don’t care anyway but that’d just cool.

Hoping the next generation flagship Nothing will allow 10x zoom. My 3a has one but it’s not as clear and accurate, I’d say, still no clear picture quality.

Also the Essential Space is really useful feature. I can’t even imagine how did I live without it on the Galaxy 🫣 I set reminders, I add my to-do’s, I save collections of a cool aesthetic stuff and affirmative messages for my future CEO of something becoming (still have to learn more about it to know who I’d like to become hehe).

Are you using any other Nothing products at you own?

Alkid Shuli

themountofmint Agree to everything you said! And yup, I do have the Nothing ear (open), great earbuds for their intended purpose; got them as part of the Community Insider Programme last year, and those we could keep! 🕺🏻

themountofmint

Alkid Shuli oh! So they let you keep them after a review, great! I have regular Ear from last year and I’m impressed by sound. I still think that’s not a good fit to me, because they still tend to fall from.my ears. Of course not as quick as Buds3 but still. So I’m gonna purchase Headphone (1) for my birthday. How’s the Ear (open) to you? How’s ANC?

Alkid Shuli

themountofmint I’d really fancy the Headphone (1) as well, great choice!

Since they’re open wireless earbuds, the Ear (open) do not have ANC; actually, I’ve never tried any buds with ANC, wonder how those feel like. But the ear (open) are definitely so comfortable and last a lot

themountofmint

Alkid Shuli well, the ANC on mine is great actually, for real. Not that “great” like it could be with Sony or smth else maybe, but it just blocks any sound making it almost unheard. I still can hear a bit of it (just a little), but assuming mine always tend to fall from my ears, so the ANC becomes a bit less noise cancelling, I’d say😅

And I’m always listening on its minimum (that one sound level when you’re starting listening first time) and would like the sound to be even more silent a bit as rn. But with actual volume settings it’s not possible to make sound “a bit” less loud like it was on the Galaxy. Like idk did you notice or do u understand me. This still annoys me a bit😅 with my Z Flip5 these Ear’s sound just perfectly as they were created for themselves hehe

El_Profesor

Amazing review brother & for a Samsung user there are aspects you would be missing your Samsung. I was once a Sammy user like you before I switched to oppo & OnePlus. Still testing the Nothing phone 3 & so far the OS is bloat free but on the camera aspect is decent not truly a flagship banger compared to other devices I have used.